Game of Thrones season 8: Florence + The Machine make unexpected appearance on soundtrack

Florence + The Machine’s song Jenny of Oldstones closed off the second episode of Game of Thrones’ eighth and final season.

The Game of Thrones soundtrack is not known for featuring many modern musicians – which is fair enough, given that the show is set in a fantastical world vaguely based on medieval Europe.

But if you watched the second episode of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, you may have noticed a familiar voice over the closing credits. Florence Welch’s band Florence + The Machine premiered a new song at the end of the episode: their cover of original GOT song Jenny of Oldstones.

After the episode aired, the show’s producers confirmed that Welch will be the only modern musician featured on the soundtrack of the final season of Game of Thrones. And fittingly, they revealed that they had been trying to convince her to sing on the show for years.

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David Benioff and Dan Weiss said they first asked Welch to sing The Rains of Castamere, a song that appeared in season two. It was eventually covered by US indie rock band The National.

“We’ve always been huge fans of Florence’s music,” Benioff and Weiss said in a joint statement. “So the opportunity to hear her otherworldly voice on our show was always at the forefront of our minds.

“We’re still pleasantly shocked that she agreed to sing Jenny of Oldstones, and we’re in love with the result.”

A different version of Jenny of Oldstones appeared earlier in episode two, when Podrick Payne sang Jenny’s Song by a fire. A truncated version of that song originally appeared in George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels.

“When I first heard the song it sounded like a Celtic lullaby to me,” Welch said in a statement of her own.

“Celtic music has always been in my blood, so I felt like I could do something with it. The magic and ritual in Game of Thrones, not to mention the costumes, have always appealed to me. I am honoured to be a part of the final season.”

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In a separate interview, Welch said she didn’t start watching Game of Thrones until after the first two seasons had already aired.

“I missed the first two seasons, and then I found it and watched as many as I could, all in one go,” she told The Independent.

“I was a binge watcher. I remember being like, ‘Oh, this is amazing. How have I not been watching this the whole time?’”

Welch also shared her thoughts on the plot of the show’s final season.

“All the families will have to stop fighting, because there’s something bigger at stake,” she said.

“I think that’s really interesting because it’s echoing what’s actually happening right now with the ecological crisis. I’m really interested to see where that goes.”

Images: Getty

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Moya Crockett

Moya is Women’s Editor at stylist.co.uk. As well as writing about inspiring women and feminism, she also covers subjects including careers, politics and psychology. Carrying a bottle of hot sauce on her person at all times is one of the many traits she shares with both Beyoncé and Hillary Clinton.